The Crimson Seal of Chastity
While Myo-rin’s thoughts about Namgung Woo and Lee Ja-ryong deepened, the quarrel between Paeng Ha-ryeong and Myo-rin grew equally heated. Even Yang Kvae—who normally refused to yield an inch when it came to sheer audacity and glib tongue—was busy rolling his eyes, frantically reading the room. Yang Jeong, for his part, seemed to have checked out entirely; his gaze had gone completely unfocused, as though his soul had left his body.
Should I send a voice transmission? Yang Jeong seriously debated whether he ought to interrupt Namgung Woo’s reverie and beg him to put a stop to the situation. The very fact that he was considering it proved he had finally shattered the wall of the First-class Realm and stepped into the Peak Realm. Voice transmission was the exclusive privilege of Peak experts; the ability to even entertain the option meant he had become one.
After the Righteous-Demonic War ended, a long stretch of peace had followed. Small-scale disputes between sects continued, of course, but a conflict that dragged the entire martial world of a major region into open war had not occurred in nearly ten years. Real combat tempered martial artists, and the experience gained from a large-scale war of this magnitude was on another level. Those who climbed the tower built from countless sacrifices found it easier to cross into higher realms.
The Yunmeng Great War had offered a catalyst for growth not only to Namgung Woo but to everyone who had taken part. That Yang Jeong had seized the opportunity was undoubtedly the result of his own desperate effort.
He had finally crossed the long-cherished threshold of the Peak Realm, yet all he could do in this moment was send a voice transmission at most. By the time self-loathing crept in—Is this why I struggled so hard to become a Peak expert?—Namgung Woo finally broke his silence.
“I understand the situation for now. But if you’re truly that desperate, why did you avoid us in the first place?”
Paeng Ha-ryeong tilted her head at his words, genuinely confused. “Avoid? What do you mean?”
“You were tailing us. Probably from Beijing. We only noticed after leaving Nanjing, but I suspect you’d been confirming our general destination until then.”
“Then I also get why she wants to throw herself under the Captain’s protection,” Yang Kvae cut in. “The Captain killed Lee Ja-ryong and left the imperial family owing him a massive debt, yet he hasn’t taken anything from them. She figured she could slip her own salvation into the bargain, right?”
When Yang Kvae clicked his tongue as if to say that’s a bit much, Paeng Ha-ryeong nodded vigorously beside him.
“If that were the case, wouldn’t she have approached earlier? Given the timing, I suspect she felt a crisis only after Gudomujung’s exposure.”
“Idiot. If that’s true, why follow us all the way from Beijing? It’s obvious she was watching the Hebei Paeng Family’s reaction.”
“That’s enough. We should hear from the person herself first.”
When Namgung Woo granted her the floor, Myo-rin spoke as eagerly as a fish snapping at bait.
“It’s exactly as the younger brother said. At first, I really was just following out of curiosity. You may or may not know this, but Lee Ja-ryong called the Great Hero the last impurity. He deliberately waited until you left Beijing.”
As expected. Lee Ja-ryong had indeed been aware of him. Though Namgung Woo had erased the man so completely from the world that the secret had vanished forever.
“…Continue.”
“After Gudomujung was exposed and I learned that the imperial family had even secured their main headquarters, I started to grow anxious. I never imagined it would collapse so easily… and there was a high chance that traces of Lee Ja-ryong contacting me remained inside their main base. From that point on, what the older brother said is correct.”
In short, she had initially believed Gudomujung would evade the imperial family without much trouble. Once the main base fell and the flames reached her own feet, she had tried to slip beneath the shadow of Namgung Woo—the man to whom the imperial family owed a debt.
“Hmm…”
Namgung Woo weighed the advantages and disadvantages of accepting Myo-rin. First, as Lee Ja-ryong’s accomplice she was a traitor guilty of high treason against the Ming imperial family. There was room for leniency in that she had helped without full knowledge, yet she had been aware of the eavesdropping and surveillance. A complete pardon would be difficult.
A similar case was Pyeong Cho-yul. He and the Yo-pyeong Express had committed the offense of transporting the protein stone to Beijing. However, they had merely fulfilled their duty as an escort agency with no intention of aiding Lee Ja-ryong. At Namgung Woo’s request, Paeng Hu-sang had negotiated skillfully with the imperial court, and they were removed from the list of traitors—though they had paid a hefty sum under the guise of a “donation.”
But Myo-rin was a genuine collaborator. A simple payment won’t settle this.
A deep conversation with the imperial family would likely be necessary. With Paeng Hu-sang’s help and the pull of East Sea Matchless Han Gye-ran, it might not be impossible, but the process would certainly be complicated.
On the other hand, she is my lifesaver.
If Myo-rin had not delivered the sword, could the Hwasung Temple warriors have pierced the vortex of energy created by the Five Yin Demon Emperor and Namgung Woo? Even if they possessed the strength to endure it, the Five Yin Demon Emperor would never have allowed it. No one except Myo-rin—who could leap through space itself—could have delivered the blade to him at that exact moment.
She must have known that. That was why she had forcibly seized the sword from the Hwasung Temple and rushed to deliver it. Her only lifeline had been on the verge of death; she must have been truly desperate.
There were reasons not to accept her, and reasons he must. What struck Namgung Woo more deeply was inevitably the latter.
“Let me be clear in advance. Coming under me does not guarantee safety.”
“Gaga?!”
At the remark that sounded far too much like consent, Paeng Ha-ryeong cried out in shock. They had only shared their hearts for such a short time, yet he was already siding with another woman… She felt tears rising.
Namgung Woo felt sorry for her, but that was that and this was this.
“I owe her my life. I cannot simply ignore it.”
“That may be true, but…”
Paeng Ha-ryeong swept a cold gaze over Myo-rin’s entire figure. Those sly, snake-like eyes with their long, sharp tails. The shameless, form-fitting provocative attire that revealed every curve of her body without the slightest shame. More than the reluctance to accept a treason accomplice as a comrade, that appearance and clothing provoked far stronger rejection.
Paeng Ha-ryeong squeezed her eyes shut and offered her final objection.
“If it’s only about owing a life, helping her obtain exemption from the treason charge should be enough. To be together with such… such a harlot…”
“H-harlot?!”
As if her legs were not numb at all, Myo-rin—who had been kneeling properly for a long time—shot to her feet as though a switch had been flipped.
She acknowledged being a traitor. The Great Ming Code had always placed more weight on outcome than intent. In cases of treason, even the innocent were dragged away merely for having the wrong connection; it was an extreme crime. But she could not let the latter remark pass.
“I-I am aware that my attire is somewhat unusual, but there are reasons for it. And look—I am wearing a proper robe.”
“A robe you haven’t even properly closed?”
“Eut… A-and I am a proper Daoist nun who bears the virginity mark! Calling me a harlot… that is simply going too far!”
Truly aggrieved, Myo-rin yanked up the sleeve of her robe and thrust out her wrist. On the inside of her pure white arm—slim yet corded with the firm muscle of a martial artist—sat a single crimson dot.
While the other three stared in astonishment, only Namgung Woo remained bewildered, completely lost as to what was happening. He considered asking through voice transmission, but that seemed likely to cause even more commotion. Instead he nudged Yang Jeong.
“Is that the virginity mark? What is it?”
“You… don’t know?”
“It does carry a strange energy, but I can’t tell anything from that alone.”
“No, that’s not what I…”
When Yang Jeong blushed and stammered, Yang Kvae—finding the sight unbearable—shoved his brother aside.
“Simply put, it’s a mark used to verify a woman’s chastity. They say it’s made with some weird lizard, but yeah, that’s basically it.”
“I’ve heard the rumors, but this is my first time seeing the real thing.”
According to legend, the virginity mark that Dongfang Shuo had presented to Emperor Wu of Han was created by mixing a red female lizard with cinnabar. When applied to a girl’s right arm, the mark remained permanently. Only after marriage and consummation would the color disappear. Thus the crimson dot was regarded as proof of a woman’s virtue.
After listening to the Yang brothers’ explanation, an awkward, dry laugh escaped Namgung Woo.
“Such an outdated custom… Isn’t that all a scam?”
“It is not. The fakes peddled by charlatans in the countryside are meaningless, but those performed by genuine spellcasters possess real power. My master kept her virginity mark her entire life. I have heard that even the Amitabha Sect—where chastity is highly valued—still uses it.”
“The Amitabha Sect? What era are we talking about…? I have never heard of them using such things since the Ming Dynasty was founded.”
“That can’t be… My master definitely… No. Even if that is the case, my own innocence is proven.”
Myo-rin asserted her position so strongly that even Paeng Ha-ryeong found it difficult to press further and quietly retreated.
The Cheongjeong Sect, which took Hongiljeom Son Bul-i of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen as its founding patriarch, accepted only female disciples and practiced one-to-one transmission. To prevent any loss of teachings, they had preserved even the smallest details as sect tradition. The virginity mark was apparently one of those surviving traces of an older era.
In any case, Namgung Woo spoke to address the remaining business.
“First, I want to verify your ability properly. I need to test your martial skills and, more importantly, have you explain your spells in detail.”